Hatoof, American Derby value plays at Arlington Park for July 17

Two stakes races on the lawn for three-year-olds are part of the big Million Preview Day card at Arlington Park on Saturday. I have respect for the favorite in each of the legs, although there are horses of value that have great interest to me that I will side with instead.

Race 4 -- Hatoof S.

The 1 1/16-mile affair for fillies attracted a field of seven, led by Regret S. (G3) third #1 Flown (7-5) from the barn of Brendan Walsh. The chestnut daughter of Kitten’s Joy has displayed her ability in both seasons of her career to date, and she is well drawn on the rail as the one to beat, as well.

But the Kenny McPeek-trained #6 Forever Boss (7-2) has the most appeal to me, and at a much better price. The Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2) fourth has been running on the main surface in her past three outings and will relish the comeback to the lawn. I expect the Tapiture chestnut to be a bit closer to the early tempo on Saturday, with less to do turning for home beneath Chris Emigh.

Race 7 -- American Derby

The penultimate race on the card features 11 sophomore boys traveling 1 1/16 miles on the sod. I had #6 El Kabong (10-1) tabbed in a tougher spot a few weeks back before he scratched out of that spot, and he looks much better against these contenders. Trained by Rusty Arnold, the son of Noble Mission has performed well in his trio of tries in 2021, led by a game maiden score over a next-out graduate at Churchill Downs last out.

El Kabong obviously takes a class hike on the maiden-to-stakes endeavor, but he has good tactical speed and seems poised to take a big step forward following a solid half-mile drill at Keeneland last time out. The bay will track the pace with Declan Carroll in the stirrups. He is my favorite value contender on the entire card.

For my vertical exotics, I will include two-time stakes winner #5 Bodenheimer (8-1), Mystic Lake Derby star #4 King of Miami (3-1), as well as Churchill allowance victor #2 Accredit (7-2).